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Autopsy set for Orange County doctor found dead in swimming pool

June 20, 2011 | 11:27
am

An autopsy was scheduled Monday for a well-known Orange County trauma surgeon found dead in her swimming pool.

Marianne E. Cinat, medical director of the UC Irvine Regional Burn Center, was found dead Saturday by a close friend at Cinat’s home in unincorporated Rossmoor, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The department was conducting a death investigation, and autopsy results were expected Monday afternoon, Amormino said. He would not speculate on whether her death might be a homicide.

“At this stage, we are going to just see and wait what the autopsy shows,” he said.

John Murray, a spokesman for UC Irvine Medical Center, said in a statement that the community is devastated by the loss of Cinat and called her “an outstanding surgeon whose skill and compassion touched the lives of hundreds of burn survivors and their families.”

“She was a wonderful colleague, friend and mentor whose presence will be deeply missed,” he said.